Multiple egg trap nest



NOV. 23, 1954 w, TELLEFSON 2,695,006

MULTIPLE EGG TRAP NEST Filed Sept. 12, 1951 INVEN TOR.

Mil/1'5 jllefsolz United States MULTIPLE EGG TRAP NEST Willis Tellefson,Leland, Ill. Application September 12, 1951, Serial No. 246,269 9Claims. (Cl. 119-48) This invention relates to improved accommodationsfor hens to lay eggs.

It is the object of this invention to provide rows of individual nestsfor hens which are constructed and equipped so as to induce the hens tolay a quantity and quality of eggs better than normally are produced.

One of the features of this invention is the construction of theindividual nests in rows with facilities installed in each nest to keepit clean at all times and to segregate the freshly laid eggs so as toprevent them from becoming dirty.

Another feature is the construction of the rows of nests in units thatcan be assembled in a continuous line, or on top of one another likesections of a book case, or even back-to-back.

In a specific embodiment this invention comprises multiple rows ofindividual nests, means as long as the row edge along the back edge ofsaid wire screen, hinged means for covering the egg-cllecting sectionsof said wire screen, openings'for ventilation in the walls of eachindividual nest, and curtain means suspended in the entrance to eachnest.

The objects and features of the device of this invention will be moreapparent from a detailed description of the features and novelarrangement of parts in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich like reference characters in the several views refer to the sameitems.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of two rows of nests stacked one on top ofthe other, which comprises a popular complete unit.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view along line 3-3 of Figure1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical view of an end section showing detailsof the hinged perch and hinged cover to egg-collecting trough.

Figure 5 is a greatly enlarged cross sectional view through the hingingmechanism for the cover to the egg collecting trough.

It is my idea that five nests be built in a row to comprise a unit whichmay be mounted on a wall of the chicken house, or layed on the floor andbacked up against a wall or other flat surface, or layed on the floor orsome elevated flat surface with its back against the back of a similarunit of nests with a partition between and touching each back. However,there seems to be a preference for two similar units stacked one on topof the other so that I Will describe such combination in detail first.If it is intended that such combination will be set up against a wall orsimilar fiat surface, it will not be necessary to provide a metal sheetacross the entire backs of the upper and lower rows of nests. However,if the double tier of nests is to be stood in the center of the chickenhouse, for example, then it will be necessary to provide either onesheet of metal to partially cover the entire back areas of the two rowsof nests, or back up each row of nests separately with a conventionalback plate thereby making each row a complete unit in itself and notrequiring placement 2,695,% Patented Nov. 23, 1954 against any fiatsurface. This would constitute the preferred construction in my opinionand is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Strips of angle iron 11 are joined to the rows at their rear formounting them on a wall or other fiat surface, or for attaching a backplate to each row of nests. The front face of an angular hinged cover tothe egg-collecting section in the front of the nests is represented by12 and the cover is swung off by lifting the knob 13. Similarly thecover 14 is raised off the egg-collecting trough of the upper tier ofnests by lifting knob 15.

Most of the features of my invention are best illustrated in theenlarged vertical sectional view of Figure 3. The wire screen bed 16 ofthe nest is coated with rubber, or rubber-like material such as latex,plastisol, or other resilient materials. A screen bed is preferred so asto permit dirt, gravel and any other objectionable matter to fallthrough, or be brushed through by the hens feathers, onto the bottomfloor 17 of the nest. The screen is coated lightly with rubber or somerubber-like plastic, or resilient material, in order to preventscratching noises when the hen is walking about the nest or nestingdown. The front end of the rubber coated wire screen is bent verticallyto form a rail 18 for the eg -collecting section of the nest and thewire screen bed 16 is purposely set at an angle so that the rear ishigher than the front, and thus when the hen rises off the newly laidegg it will roll down the inclined nest to the egg-collecting rail 18.In doing so the rubber coating on the wire screen bed 16 and rail 18will reduce any tendency to breakage of thin shell eggs.

When the newly laid egg rolls down nest bed 16 to the egg-collectingsection, it passes under a substantially immovable, rigid, downwardlyinclined apron 19 and will be safe from the hen. Thereafter the egg willnot be walked an egg to work the egg through her feathers and up underher breast. Once the egg is advanced far enough under the hens breastany movement by the hen will result in the egg rolling gently forwardunder apron 19 and down to the rail 18 and the compartment for easycollection of spotlessly clean fresh eggs.

Preferably a wooden egg-shaped decoy 20 that had been painted white isfastened but within a limited range.

The rubber-coated wire screen 16 is supported up off the bottom 17 byangle iron strips 22 built into a frame with cross support stripsapproximately under each partition between individual nests.Periodically the row of nests can be cleaned easily and quickly byraising the perch, then raising the angular cover to the egg-collectingcompartment, which by reason of the full width rolled sleeve hinge 21,will swing lower than the nest bottom 17 as shown in Figure 4, so thatscreen 16 can be pulled out and the rear angle iron 22 of its frame willscrape the bottom 17 clean.

The cross sectional view of the full width sleeve rolled hinge 21 isshown enlarged in Figure 5.

When collectingeggs from this clean egg factory, you first raise theperch or roost 9 back as shown in Figure 4 whereby the perch boardcloses across the several openings to the row of nests and keeps thehens in so that they cannot peck and scratch the person gathering theeggs. the angular cover 14 is raised up and swung down as outlined inFigure 4, thus exposing the egg-collecting compartment back of rail 18.A double perch board 7 is provided for the lower tier of nests in orderto make it easier for the hen to fly up from perch 7 to perch 9 of thesecond tier of nests.

Each individual nest is ventilated by reason of the feature of therubber-covered wire screen bed 16 being raised nest is always clean oflitter greatly reduces the tendency to broodiness in laying hens.

What I claim as invention:

1. A row of identical nests suitable for fowl to lay eggs in consistingof a housing with an inclined wire screen that had been covered withrubber-like material, a similarly inclined bottom to said nests belowsaid wire screen, means along the lower and higher edges of saidinclined wire screen to support same up off said inclined bottom, meansdisposed rigidly above said inclined wire screen at an angle oppositethereto and removed therefrom sufficiently to permit an egg to roll downsaid inclined wire screen under said rigidly disposed means to acollecting rail formed by turning the lower edge of said wire screen ina vertical direction, and a hinged closing means for covering thesection of said housing along said collecting rail.

2. Rows of similar nests arranged in tiers comprising a rectangularshaped housing divided by multiple partitions into multiple nests eachwith separate entrance, means hanging over' each entrance to shieldlight from occupant of nests, an immovable inclined apron extendinginwardly and downwardly from the entrance of each individual nest, anegg collection compartment to each row of individual nests which extendsforward from said housing and along under said separate entrances tosaid multiple nests, said compartment having a longitudinally hingedcover which when closed over said compartment supports a perch boardthat is swung down on said cover, rubber covered means inclined from anelevated point at the rear wall of said rectangular housing to a lowerlevel at the forward edge of said egg collection compartment, saidrubber covered means supported by angular means up off the parallelinclined bottom of said nests but low enough from said immovableinclined apron to allow an egg to roll down said inclined rubber coveredmeans into said egg collection compartment, and a single flat member tocover the backs of the rows of nests and close said rectangular shapedhousing.

3. Rows of individual nests arranged in tiers, each tier comprising arectangularly shaped housing divided by equally spaced partitions intomultiple individual stalls, the bottom of each tier being inclined froma higher level at the back to a lower level at the front and supportinga wire mesh screen that had been coated with a rubber-like plasticmaterial, angular means along the edges of said wire mesh screen tosupport same up off said bottom, the front edge of said wire mesh screenextending beyond said rectangular housing and being bent into a verticalposition lengthwise of said tier for collecting eggs in a compartmentthat is covered by a hinged cover and an inclined immovable apronextending downward at an angle from each entrance to each individualstall towards said screen to shield the eggs in said compartment fromthe hen occupying the nest.

4. A row of identical nests suitable for fowl to lay eggs in as setforth and claimed in claim 1 above including a covering means extendingthe length of said collecting rail which covering means is swingablearound said collecting rail by reason of a sleeve-type hinge extendingthe length of said covering means.

5. Rows of similar poultry nests that may be arranged in stacks one ontop of another with a common back plate for all rows, each rowconsisting of a separate housing divided into multiple individual nestsby multiple parallel partitions, each housing having an inclined floorsloping down toward the front of the row of nests and a similarlyinclined rubber coated wire screen supported above said floor, eachindividual nest having an opening for the hen to enter and a flexibleflap to cover the upper part of each opening, an apron-like immovablemember extending inwardly and downwardly from each individual openinginto each nest, said inclined rubber coated wire screen extending undersaid multiple aprons and forward from said housing into an eggcollecting trough extending the full length of the row of nests, saidcollecting trough including a rail made by extending said rubber coatedwire screen in a vertical direction, a hinged closing means for coveringsaid collecting trough, and a single smooth plate to cover the backs ofall nests in the stack of rows of nests.

6. Multiple individual poultry nests arranged in a hori- Zontal rowsuitable for attaching said row with partially open backs of saidindividual nests against a vertical smooth surface, each individual nestcomprising a rectangular housing with a partially open back, an openingfor the hen to enter the nest in the front having a flexible flap tocover the upper portion of said opening to shield the hen from outsidelight, the row of individual nests having a common floor inclined from ahigher point on the partial back wall to a lower point at the front ofthe row of nests, a wire screen that had been coated with rubberlikematerial and attached to angle irons is disposed a little above saidinclined floor and is co-extensive with said floor under all the nestsin the row and for a short length beyond the lower front edge of theindividual nests, which extended length of wire screen is verticallydisposed to form an egg collecting rail, a hinged means for closing oversaid collecting rail, an apron-like rigid member extending inwardly anddownwardly in an opposite direction to said inclined wire screen fromeach individual opening into each nest, and a white egg-shaped memberattached to said Wire screen by elastic means at a central point in eachindividual nest.

7. A row of poultry nests capable of being superposed on a similar rowof nests comprising a plurality of partitioned stalls in a housing withindividual entrances to each stall and a wire screen extending the fulllength of the row of nests and also protruding forward beyond theindividual entrances to each stall to provide an egg collectingcompartment, said wire screen having been first coated with rubber-likematerial and mounted on a rectangular frame, said frame being suitableto hold said wire screen up off the bottom of said row of nests so as topermit the droppings to fall through said screen, said frame and screenbeing of a size suitable for easy insertion on the bottom of saidhousing under said plurality of stalls, said bottom of said housingbeing higher at the back and lower at the front of said housing where itprotrudes beyond the individual entrances to each stall, said frame andscreen being supported by said bottom and inclining parallel to it, aclosure member swingingly connected to the front end of said bottom forclosing over that portion of said screen and said bottom which protrudesbeyond the individual entrances to each stall to form an egg collectingcompartment.

8. A row of poultry nests comprising a plurality of partitioned stallsin a housing containing a nest compartment and an egg collectingcompartment, both having an inclined bottom and a parallel wire screenspaced a little above said bottom, said wire screen having first beencoated with rubber and the front edge thereof extended in a verticaldirection along its full length, said screen coated and shaped asaforesaid being attached to a rectangular frame suitable for insertionon said inclined bottom under said partitioned stalls, said screenhaving attached thereto by loose elastic means an egg shaped memberdisposed thereon centrally in each of said stalls in said nestcompartment, said nest compartment being separated from said eggcollecting compartment by a rigid apronlike member inclined oppositelyto said coated wire screen and extending from each individual entranceto said partitioned stalls downwardly into said nest compartment butsufliciently short of said coated wire screen to permit eggs to rollforward down said inclined screen into the said egg collectingcompartment, and a closure member swingingly attached to said bottomalong its front edge so as to close over that portion of said coatedwire screen which had its front edge bent vertically so as to collecteggs rolling down from said nest compartment under said apronlikemember.

9. The combination of a plurality of poultry nests arranged in rows,each row being capable of being superposed upon a similar row of nests,and each row of poultry nests comprising a housing with an inclinedbottom containing a nest compartment and an egg collecting compartmentwith a rigid apron-like member separating said compartments, said bottombeing inclined downward from the back of said housing, said rigidapron-like member be ing inclined downward into said housing from thelower edge of the entrance to each poultry nest, said nest compartmenthaving a single rubber coated wire screen co-extensive with saidinclined bottom and spaced parallel to and a little above said bottom topermit droppings to pass through said screen, said nest compartmenthaving a plurality of partitioned stalls with individual entrances toeach in the front wall of said housing, said screen having an egg shapeddecoy disposed centrally in each of said stalls and attached to saidscreen by loose elastic means, said egg collecting compartmentconsisting of a section of said inclined bottom and said parallel wirescreen which extends forward through said wall of said housing and belowsaid individual entrances to said stalls, the forward edge of saidrubber coated wire screen extending upwardly from its inclined positionto form a collecting rail to catch eggs rolling down said inclinedscreen from said nest compartment and under said apron-like member, anda closing cover to said egg collecting compartment that is hinged alongthe forward edge of said bottom to said housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent Number 5 886,151 1,926,1332,094,074 2,564,207 2,584,909

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Olson Apr. 28, 1908 Anderson Sept. 12,1933 Lee et al Sept. 28, 1937 Marshall Aug. 14, 1951 Ockenfels Feb. 5,1952

